Invoicing and Contract

We would like to take a moment to speak together about the obligations and good practices of athletic therapists in reference to work, especially with short-term work contracts

One of the most frequent problems reported by athletic therapists is the delay of payment from such contracts. As self-employed individuals, many athletic therapists will accept to cover events/short-term contracts for different employers, some of which are other athletic therapists. Unfortunately, certain members have had difficulty receiving their payments. We want to share some strategies with you to help facilitate this often-difficult aspect of self-employment.

Keep a paper trail
When you agree to event coverage, make sure that you have written proof of the agreement. For periodic replacements, it is not necessary to create and sign a contract for the agreement to be considered legal. An email can therefore be valid as long as it includes two crucial elements in the transaction, namely a clear and unequivocal offer and acceptance. ¹

Determine the payment term
In your communications, and before accepting the offer, determine a payment deadline with the employer. Without necessarily being a guarantee that the employer will respect the deadline, expectations by the people concerned can be established and could constitute proof of a breach of contract if the situation becomes problematic, and therefore legalized. You can also include the specific method of payment, since some methods may cause more delay.

Quickly send your bill
In addition to it being a reminder to the employer, you will avoid increasing the processing time of your payment. Be sure to include all pertinent and necessary information for a complete invoice, such as payment deadline, details of the service rendered, the date, etc ²

If, unfortunately, the payment is late, you will have to, at times, act more severely. If the payment deadlines are not respected, here are some steps to follow ³:

   1. Let the client know that you are awaiting payment
   2. Send a reminder invoice
   3. Write a formal notice

«If the formal notice does not suffice, you have multiple solutions:
      • Mediation, arbitration, or both.
      • Collection agency.
            o You can pursue the client for a month or two, with associated fees. However, this may be less relevant for the payment of small contracts.
      • Court.
             o Your lawsuit has the best chance of being successful at the Small Claims Division of the Civil Division of the Court of Quebec.»

Last, according to the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct of the CTSQ section A, paragraph 5, members employing athletic therapists, or any other professional must renumerate them according to the standards provided. Therefore, in some cases, you can submit a complaint to the ethics committee if your employer is an athletic therapist. Please note that the ethics committee only has the power to sanction the offending member under the conditions provided in the authorization regulations of the Corporation:
        • The suspension of the member for a defined period;
        • The expulsion of the member from the Corporation ;
       • The obligation for the member to complete, at their own expense, any course, mentoring, or internship required by the board.

Without addressing your problem directly, a complaint to the ethics committee can allow you to sanction a therapist who is potentially repeatedly taking advantage of other professionals.

*This article is intended as a reference tool and does not constitute legal advice

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¹Loi concernant le cadre juridique des technologies de l'information (LRQ, c-1.1)
²Travailleur autonome
³Protégez-vous

The Bingham Cup, a Highly Colorful Competition

Last August, Ottawa hosted the Bingham Cup, an inclusive international rugby tournament. Athletic therapist Jacqueline Camley joined the tourney’s medical team for several days and agreed to share her experience with us.

Can you give us some insight into the Bingham Cup?

The event is a biannual gay, inclusive rugby championship organized by International Gay Rugby (IGR). Although the association and the event’s mission do not state it outright, the goal of the event is to allow all participants to play rugby without being discriminated against due to their sexual orientation, gender identity, etc. Everyone is accepted with open arms. This year, Ottawa played host to the event, succeeding the Amsterdam edition in 2018 (the 2020 installment was cancelled due to you know what). Personally, I wasn’t really familiar with the organization, but I got involved with the medical team after answering a Facebook post.

How would you describe your role as an athletic therapist in an LGBTQ+ competition?

Overall, the vibe was very welcoming and friendly. For me personally, I was often thanked and acknowledged by athletes. It’s nice to feel like you’re helping them. Most of my role involved assessing if players could return to action, some concussions and regular injuries. During my interventions, the athletes showed faith in us and didn’t systematically question our professional judgment. Although the event had a fun and entertaining element, it remains a championship like any other, and the competition was serious (and the level of play was strong). Practicing my profession in that type of environment without having to constantly justify my recommendations (withholding players from returning to play) was a highly enriching experience that led to significant professional growth.

Do you believe that these openly LGBTQ+ events have a real impact?

Well, to be perfectly honest, yes! If you take just the Bingham Cup and IGR, inclusion and respect go to the heart of their very mission. Organizations associated with the league must therefore ensure safe spaces for anyone who comes on board. Even in 2022, there remains a lot of violence in this sport. In terms of LGBTQ+ communities, we often still bear witness to microaggressions in sports culture. Be it just "joking around" with teammates or trash talking the other team, too often, we still hear homophobic insults out on the field. LGBTQ+ athletes suffer from these types of underhanded comments, even though they are in theory playing with an organization that condemns homophobia in the public space. Leagues like IGR allow athletes to take part in the sport without a Damocles sword hanging over their heads, without the need to avoid attracting homophobic banter from others – a typical behaviour in LGBTQ+ individuals in environments in which they feel like them need to “fly under the radar”. Another issue, when LGBTQ+ individuals assert themselves, is that they can be singled out, directly or unconsciously, and treated like freaks. In organizations that foster inclusion, these same individuals can just be themselves, without feeling like they’re under the microscope or need to be standard bearers of a cause that has been imposed on them. There’s something beautiful about seeing people be free to be their true selves without any shame, embarrassment or inhibition.

Do you think that as athletic therapists, we can help improve the situation?

Yes, absolutely! The simplest (although it’s not always the easiest) way, is to react when we witness problematic behaviours like those I mentioned above. As therapists, we are in a position of relative authority over athletes. Educating them, and sometimes even literally reprimanding them for homophobic, misogynistic, transphobic and other unacceptable comments can have a greater impact than we think. And the younger we can diffuse these harmful thought patterns, the better. So, as athletic therapists we can take action at all levels of the sport. On the other hand, I think that we also need to continue educating therapists and teaching them to put their patients first in their work. Practicing evidence-based athletic therapy is important, but it can also seem a bit cold. We can’t forget the human element here and ensuring that our approach accounts for the realities of others. Individuals’ personal experiences influence their behaviour, and that holds true even when we’re talking about the healing process or injury management. Athletic therapists don’t need to be infallible and know everything, but the more we take the time to listen to our patients and avoid practicing in a one-size-fits-all mould, the more value and quality we can offer with our treatments.

Thank you Jacqueline for sharing your experience. We hope that everyone learned something from your wise words.